RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Invisalign Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes, is bursting with energy with the Canes nowhere in sight.
It’s a Friday night and the newly formed Triangle High School Hockey League has taken over the red rink.
“Usually when you play travel (hockey) not many people come but when they’re chanting your name and you feel the school spirit you just love it so much,” said Green Level senior Ewan Andrew.
On this night, Green Level and Apex are battling in front of more than a thousand fans. Amazing when you think about how this league came to be.
“It started with two guys who gathered a group together and found every hockey player in the high school possible,” said Green Level sophomore Moosa Dessouky.
And a few weeks later the league was born without the single fingerprint of a parent, giving high school hockey players an outlet to compete. 18 teams strong, the league appears as if it’s here to stay.
“It was an endeavor and I think there have been fits and starts in the past about high school hockey,” said Green Level head coach Jon Hryn. “Some people have tried but what ends up happening is when this groundswell came and the kids were fully engaged that’s when you knew it was a real thing.”
Ironically, the league’s future could get a boost from the play of the Hurricanes.
“And I think if the big club (Carolina Hurricanes) continues to do well, what you’ll see is more and more groundswell to the elementary school, and that will feed the middle school that will feed the high school,” said Hryn. “So we just need numbers and a lot of energy and over time the thing will be real.”
The players who have made the high school league an early success have big dreams. Even those whose careers will come to a conclusion at the end of this season.
“I know it’s a stretch but I hope it takes over football,” said Andrew. “I think this is the new thing, everybody loves it and I hear it around school that people can’t wait for the next game I think that it will just grow more and more over the years.”
